Downtown Fort Collins houses could face tighter rules

City Council gives initial approval to revised standards for Eastside and Westside neighborhoods.

Feb. 26, 2013

The house at 515 Whitcomb St., left, is shown Dec. 3, 2010, with a neighboring property in northwest Fort Collins. City officials are reviewing design standards for houses that would be built in downtown neighborhoods. / Rich Abrahamson/Coloradoan library

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The council adopted the Student Housing Action Plan, which describes a series of legislative steps aimed at addressing the impact of multi-family developments on single-family neighborhoods. The plan passed 6-1, with Councilwoman Aislinn Kottwitz opposed. The proposal was amended to remove a provision that the city would consider a rental-licensing program. Individual elements of the plan are scheduled to be considered by the council at its March 5 meeting.

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Some new and remodeled houses in historic downtown neighborhoods will have to be smaller and shorter based on new standards backed by the Fort Collins City Council.

The council on Tuesday gave initial approval to an ordinance setting revised rules for the size and design of houses in the Eastside and Westside neighborhoods. The ordinance passed 4-3, with Mayor Karen Weitkunat and council members Wade Troxell and Aislinn Kottwitz opposed.

Proponents of the changes said they are needed to address the problem of overly large houses being built on small lots in the neighborhoods. But opponents said the neighborhoods are known for being diverse and eclectic, with large houses next to small houses.

“We are swinging at shadows. … This is not about what’s good for Old Town,” Troxell said.

The new standards would set a sliding scale for the allowable floor area ratio, or FAR, of a house relative to the size of its lot. The revision would be modest, said Councilman Ben Manvel, and good-sized houses still would be allowed.

Even under current standards, which limit the FAR of homes to 40 or 50 percent depending on zoning district, only a few houses are “outliers” and substantially larger than average, he said. But they do affect the character of the neighborhoods and impact residents.

“If you have an outlier next to you, you have a problem, in my opinion,” Manvel said.

The ordinance also adjusts standards for measuring the heights of new buildings, requires that solar access be preserved for houses that are north of two-story houses, and sets design standards for the front and side facades of buildings.

The standards are aimed at addressing size, mass and scale issues in the historic neighborhoods, staff members said. The proposals were developed following a nearly yearlong process that included neighborhood meetings.

But the process seemed rushed toward the end, critics said, and did not allow for enough public input.

The council passed similar restrictions two years ago. Opponents successfully petitioned for the repeal of the ordinance that set the rules.

Neighborhood activists have said they will petition again if the stricter standards are approved by the council. The measure is scheduled to come back to council for a final reading on March 5.

Council considered two options for the standards, one with the FAR revision and one without. Troxell said the option with the FAR rules “flies in the face of the citizen petition.”

But Manvel said the new rules are “reasonable” and not as strict as those approved two years ago, with the reduced FAR limits applying to only houses on the largest lots.